Henry had never bought a lottery ticket. Why not? His choice wasn’t due to a religious prejudice against gambling. He just never believed he could win.
What he could do was write. People liked his stories, so he kept writing and kept getting better. When he went to writing conferences and seminars, agents and editors encouraged him, which led him to keep on writing even though the odds for big-time success didn’t appear to be good.
He studied how to write book proposals and made his presentations the very best. He had the perfect elevator pitch, which never failed to excite people, making them want to read his book—if he could ever find an agent who was interested in his work. When would that be?
After twenty years and seven self-published books, he was asked if he thought he would ever get a contract with a traditional publisher.
“I don’t know,” he said, “but I will keep trying. Why? Writing is like buying a lottery ticket you know is a winner. Somebody is sure to benefit from my writing, so I can’t lose.”
